Radio duo: Michael Bloomberg the ‘ultimate nanny’

BURBANK, California — Each weekday afternoon from a small Southern California studio, two radio hosts raise hell, filling the airwaves with tirades against those they call villains and liars, crooks and idiots.

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And the recent arrivalof John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou on the airwaves in the New York market has given the popular duo a big new audience and their newest target to mercilessly mock — in the “ultimate nanny” Mayor Michael Bloomberg — and the surprise of finding a politician they respect in New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

From three to seven p.m. PST, Kobylt and Chiampou regale listeners of “The John and Ken Show” with their takes on everything from the major political issues of the day to strange tabloid tales. They’ve got the Southern California market wrapped up, broadcasting on KFI-AM 640 during the key afternoon traffic time slot. In January, they started simulcasting the last hour of their show on WOR 710 at 9 p.m. EST and are also doing an additional hour specifically for the station.

And with their entry to New York airwaves, they’ve been able to add even more politicians to their cast of characters to lampoon.

“We’re finding no shortage of material, that’s for sure, between the dirty politicians and crazy stories,” Chiampou told POLITICO. “And we’re both from the East Coast, so we’re familiar with the station and the market and the demographics of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, so we have no trouble fitting in.”

One new target they’ve been enjoying ridiculing has been Bloomberg — “He has become the ultimate nanny. We position him as a little old lady running around in a housedress and curlers telling everybody what to do,” Kobylt said — but they’ve also found an elected official they hold in high regard, too - a rare thing for the pair.

“We’ll talk about Chris Christie and what’s going on in New Jersey. We actually like him,” Chiampou said. “There’s not a lot of politicians we like. … We do like his very honest approach and we like the way he stood up to the teachers’ union in New Jersey a few years ago. That is what a politician should do. You’ve got to fight back.”

While they describe the goal of their show as simply amusing the masses stuck in their cars during dreaded rush-hour traffic, there’s more to it than that. Kobylt and Chiampou are often described as libertarian or conservative — they take a hard line on issues such as taxes and illegal immigration, but support gay marriage. But the radio duo isn’t fans of labels and say they aren’t beholden to any political ideology - and that keeps the show both unpredictable and accessible to listeners.